Pope Affirms Need to Care for Our Common Home

“The problems of the destruction of the natural environment are increasingly grave and the consequences on the lives of people are dramatic,” Pope Francis said in a video released November 30, 2017.

The video message was sent to participants in the International Symposium “Laudato si’. Care for the common home, a necessary conversion to human ecology”, organized by the Catholic University of Costa Rica with the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation. The conference runs November 29-December 1, 2017, in San José, Costa Rica.

Video Message of the Holy Father

I greet all of you who are participating in this Symposium organized by the Catholic University of Costa Rica with the collaboration of the Ratzinger Foundation. I thank the President of the Republic for the support given to this initiative, which promotes a cause close to my heart.

With the Encyclical Laudato si’, I drew the attention of humanity and the Church to the most urgent questions relating to the care of our common home and the present and future of the peoples who inhabit it. The problems of the destruction of the natural environment are increasingly grave and the consequences on the lives of people are dramatic.

To face these, we need to have a broader vision of the causes, the nature of the crisis and its various aspects. No, a negationist attitude in the face of this world problem is not legitimate. It is essential for there to be collaboration among scientists, sociologists, economists and politicians, as well as educators and formers of consciences. Without a true conversion of our attitudes and our everyday behavior, technical solutions will not save our home.

As Pope Benedict XVI said, a “human ecology” is needed, placing at the center the full development of the person and appealing to his or her responsibility for the common good, for the respect and good administration of the creatures God has entrusted to us.

I hope with all my heart that this Symposium will provide a strong impetus for collaboration between the Catholic Universities – in particular in Latin America and in the Caribbean – for the study of these problems, the development of the situation and possible solutions; and also to suggest concrete proposals, to inspire greater responsibility for the care of our common home, not only by individuals by also in political, social and ecclesial communities, and finally, in families.

There is a need for solidarity and for efforts by all. The Encyclical Laudato si’ is an appeal to each and every one of us. There is a need for collaboration by everyone, in order to receive the message of Laudato si’ and translate it into real life, for the good and the future of the human family.